Batarian
A sapient species, native to Khar'shan. Despite several disagreements with the Citadel and simmering hostility toward humans, most batarians prefer profitable pursuits such as drug running and slave grabs to out-and-out warfare. They have a reputation for being shrewd businessmen and merchants, though in more lawless regions of the galaxy, negotiations with a batarian are likely to be conducted at gunpoint. Biology Batarians are noted for having four eyes. Four eyes is an apex evolutionary trait on Khar’shan - only predators at the top of the foodchain exhibit them. Batarians are very considerate of the eyes, as each of the four is seen as a physical representation of the soul (zayn’ir), which is split into four pieces. Without all four eyes, a soul is considered disunified, and if the eyes are removed from the body after death, the batarian can’t make it to the afterlife. “Lesser” creatures with only two eyes are considered permanently disunified. • Mind (“Li”) - upper left eye, mental strength and intelligence. • Body (“Nava”) - lower left eye, actions and expression. • Heart (“Anya”) - upper right eye; compassion and faith. • Self (“Ziku”) - lower right eye, achievement and confidence. According to certain batarian religious traditions, the soul can be unbalanced by the four parts being ‘out of sync’ - this is common, as very few batarian souls are completely in sync, either through choice or through circumstance. Disunification is common in victims of trauma and veterans of especially gruesome battles. Should a batarian loose an eye for whatever reason, a special pilgrimage must be made, and a replacement made from one’s own hands (in wood or glass) with all other pieces of the souls unified in Sight. Cloning and cybernetics are both common in modern times, and acceptable in most places, but strict followers often see them as ‘fake,’ and believe that the soul is partially destroyed in this way. When a batarian dies, his soul leaves the body through the eyes. Treatment of the corpse is considered unimportant, unless the eyes have been removed by an enemy. Language http://cdn.wikia.com/wiki/Batarian_Language Culture http://cdn.wikia.com/wiki/Morok-Bal http://cdn.wikia.com/wiki/Urakh http://cdn.wikia.com/wiki/Kalashak Technology History Post-Reaper War: Camala and Erszbat suffered very different fates than Khar’shan - centres of wealth and industry, both world governments were so thoroughly controlled by the Reapers that the populations marched willingly into the processing plants, at least at first. As the stench and gore became more prominent, more and more resistance sprung up, only to be crushed mercilessly by the government itself. The hopelessness of the cause became clear only when the resistance on Erzsbat was at its most successful, toppling provincial governments only to have their newly liberated city obliterated by overwhelming Reaper firepower. Though the two worlds were out of contact with one another, events took similar turns - those who wished to live fled into the countryside, while those who trusted in their government were guided by the hand to their deaths. Worlds on the edge of batarian space suffered a multitude of fates - some, though left virtually alone by the Reapers, couldn’t survive without the oppressive might of the Hegemony to back them. Colonies suffered slave revolts, local governors who weathered these set themselves up as warlords or worse, and some fanatics even offered themselves to the Reapers willingly, if only to realize their mistake when the new gods didn’t look kindly upon them. Agricolonies suffered exposure as their sources of equipment and supply vanished overnight, while industrial worlds and their slave populations starved without access to imported foodstuffs. Military outposts destroyed themselves in orgies of violence, indoctrinated fighting those who resisted, or even simply two commanders trying to determine who would lead. Eventually, months after the Reapers had vanished, rudimentary communications were re-established. Governments began to form, even if only gangs built around local strongmen. Travel resumed, surviving ships carrying basic supplies and trade goods between worlds, trying to avoid the ambitious marauders and military remnants turned to piracy. Survivors were rescued from devastated worlds, and those now in power began to consider the form their new society would take. Khar’shan was now dominated by a religious fringe, and remained the recognized capital of batarian culture and civilization, despite the insignificance of its surviving economy. As the Reapers demolished the planet’s population and infrastructure systematically, one small nation-state was left mostly intact. This traditionally religious and technologically-backwards state was left alone only because every other area of the planet posed more of a threat - these farmers and monks using antiquated technology and hand-ploughs survived by chance. In the aftermath of the Reaper withdrawal, though, the green fields and intact homesteads looked like paradise, and the monks were quick to praise the divine for rescuing them from the apocalypse. A shattered and traumatized remnant of Khar’shan batarians saw the monks and their quietly confident ways as a path to salvation, and what was once an almost insignificant faith becamea dominant ideological force. Unfortunately, the perception that simple ways and the absence of technology promises salvation stifled all but the most necessary reconstruction efforts on Khar’shan. Camala had always been one of the richest planets in the galaxy, due to its disproportionately large stockpiles of eezo. Only a few decades priorit was known as a multicultural centre of trade, hosting alien merchants and guests from all over the galaxy. Most of this changed when the batarians isolated themselves from the Council species, banishing all alien nationals without exception.Despite being under the Hegemony’s often corrupt and inefficient rule, Camala continued to flourish, and was one of the most heavily defended planets when the Reapers hit. The planet was struck very hard, it defenses destroyed, its government indoctrinated, and large percentages of its populace decimated in Reaper death camps. When the Reapers withdrew from the formerly wealthy world, there was no civil war. The government, heavily indoctrinated over a number of years, ceased to function on its own initiative, and the Triad-like Grusto came to the fore. Quietly murdering the remaining elements of leadership, these organized criminals assumed the mantle of respectable rulers. In many ways the crimelords were in fact an improvement on the Hegemony government - centuries of working across class and ethnic boundaries in the interest of profit had left them capable of coordinating surviving slaves, nobles and casteless alike. Pragmatism kept the rank and file from following the commands of even indoctrinated Grusto commanders, and when the depleted populations of the surviving cities began to starve it was the Grusto who opened their granaries and food stores, gathering survivors into functional units with promises of food and warmth. The remaining populace rightly saw these former criminals as saviors, and while its government bore little resemblance to what had gone before, Camala was one of the quickest batarian worlds to begin functioning in a practical fashion. While the corruption and lack of regulation engendered by the Grusto might eventually pose a problem, they formed one of the strongest remaining governments in the Kite’s Nest. As for Erszbat, government cooperation made the depopulation of the once-thriving world easy for the Reapers, and many of the cannibals deployed across the rest of the galaxy had their origins here. Focused as they were on population centers, the hinterlands and slave posts were left to rot. As the galaxy rallied and fought back against the alien menace, the Reaper harvesting programs intensified, leaving the cities of Erszbat nothing but empty shells. Even the complicit government officials were, in the end, harvested as reinforcements for the Reapers, and so as the menace passed it was the farmers and miners, almost all former slaves, who made their way into the empty cities and took for themselves what hadn’t been theirs before. These weren’t the educated, nor the wealthy, nor even the particularly informed, merely the oppressed citizens of a harsh regime that was nowhere to be found. Their early efforts at organization resembled work gangs more than any kind of government, and when these gangs did begin to unite it was almost always violent. The indoctrinated government had long preached the existence of a rebel element, made up of both anti-Hegemony activists and StateSec agents that turned traitor soon before the Reapers’ arrival, using them as bogeymen to keep the populace watchful, fearful and obedient. Although none remained to know it, the government leaders had been absolutely correct. Such a group did exist, using the knowledge of StateSec secrets and the experience of those who opposed the Hegemony for years to remain hidden. They kept underground (often literally, in forgotten bunkers and bomb shelters), gathering their strength. Taking the name that the indoctrinated government gave them, the Cabal had taken over a number of abandoned manufacturing complexes and hidden military depots, clearing them of looters or remnants of Reaper forces. Although few in number (some say less than a thousand strong), the group counted amongst its members many experienced soldiers and guerilla fighters, veterans of many battles (often against each other), as well as many skilled workers covertly rescued from the harvesting process. The Cabal’s unrivaled access to high technology gave it an important position on the resurgent Erszbat, even if they chose to stay away from the squabbles and politics of gangs and city-states. By the time Erszbat made contact with the survivors on other worlds in the Kite’s Nest, it had the beginnings of something resembling a democratic government. Negotiations were handled by a council of leaders representing cities and groups across the planet, though the Cabal’s existence long remained a public secret. The gangs had become political parties of a sort - parties which would never forget their origin in the mines and fields of the fallen Hegemony. Industry slowly ground back into motion, aided by the fact that the former government’s cooperation had led to most major facilities being spared destruction, unlike that visited on planets like Khar’shan. However, with the lack of skilled workers to run these facilities, and the Cabal’s small numbers and unwillingness to part with technology, the industrial recovery on Erszbat remained limited in scope. Even so, it was enough to ensure them a prominent place in the political dynamic of the Kite’s Nest. Even if the planet’s production wasn’t to the level it had been before the war, the mostly-intact infrastructure granted the remaining population significant advantages over most of their neighbours. The former slaves now in control of Erszbat were quick to leverage that potential into concessions from more conservative worlds, and while the caste system remained dominant on many former colonies, those wishing to trade with this relative powerhouse largely extended the traditional rights of the nobility to those of lower rank. Others, faced with the potential for uprisings and disaster, ceded such rights to their slaves well before making contact with Erszbat. On many planets, while symbolic devisions remained largely unchanged, the castes were now legally and politically equal, or near enough. As contact slowly resumed between former Hegemony worlds, most discovered that the governments of their neighbours had followed similar paths. Only on a handful of worlds did the governors maintain power, whether by violence or by sheer luck. The remaining slaves on Chresk revolted, leading to one of the most brutally quelled uprisings in former Hegemony space. The supporters of Governor Odar Gro’Habbon proved more than happy to commit atrocities against slaves, whether involved in the uprising or not, and the use of chemical weapons provided by the Crimson Chains was widespread. In the end, the Governor held onto power, although his grip was far less absolute than it was during the colony’s heyday - once the uprising was suppressed laws were passed restricting the number of slaves owned by anybody except mining concerns, who were required to maintain a very specific ratio of slaves to seurity personnel. In addition, the infamously cruel Chresk Games were put on hold until further notice. Those now governed by ex-slaves and casteless had no sense of how to establish the vast bureaucratic machine required to function on an interplanetary scale. The only truly common feature of the various batarian worlds was that none of them wanted a new Hegemony. After tense discussion between varying parties and the acknowledged leaders of numerous factions, most of the newly slave-run worlds took a cue from the major government they knew best besides their own: The Citadel Council. Where some of the colonies declared themselves independent, and others formed the Council, some worlds held tightly to traditional cultural rights, namely the right to own slaves. Their leaders were quick to declare themselves the rightful successors of the Hegemony. When communications were restored, these colonies quickly found themselves surrounded by planets on which government was now handled by former slaves, and when these other colonies refused to recognize their authority, they bonded together to protect their rights from the abolitionists, forming a council of their own. This body consisted simply of leaders from all the pro-slavery colonies.These worlds - most of them agrarian or hosting otherwise manpower-heavy industries - began a quick reconstruction, alarmed that the hugely outnumbering abolitionists would attack them to set the slaves free. Supporters of the ideology colloquially referred to Erszbat as ‘Wastebin’ and Camalans as ‘Scumlords’, arguing that too much freedom leads to chaos, and that the lesser castes weren’t ready for the burdens of leadership and power. Definitions of ‘ready’ varied planet by planet; the most traditional ones believed the lower castes would never be ready, that generations of ‘bad blood’ had made them genetically inferior to the upper castes. Some planets, however, believed that they should begin to educate the lesser castes, then gradually empower them so as to avoid a politically immature populace pushing their society into chaos. The Na’Hesit worlds were certain that the Council would invade them immediately, sure that in their new fervor they’d feel a compulsion to completely eradicate slavery from the galaxy. However, the Na’Hesit were mistaken. Where some of the more radical leaders of the Batarian Council did advocate war to destroy the reactionary oppressors, most of the planets weren’t very keen on waging another conflict so quickly - and against their own people, at that. The Council and the Na’Hesit both recognized the threat of the Terminus Systems, which now ran almost completely unchecked by any foreign power, and realized that divided they’d be much easier targets for invasion. After much deliberation, the Batarian Council decided to send an envoy to the Na’Hesit to discuss unity. At first, the suspicious Na’Hesit leaders refused to even meet the envoy, deigning not to negotiate with abolitionist traitors. Further, they believed the overtures to be nothing more than a plot to deceive them, and tried to stall as long as possible. The Council kept trying to contact them, while turning its attention to the neutral colonies simultaneously, beginning to influence these worlds’ antislavery factions. In light of this latter move, the Na’Hesit realized that they couldn’t remain isolated and allow their own influence be gnawed away, and so they caved in and met with Council representatives. The negotiations lasted for weeks, both sides storming out several times due to disagreements. At times, it was thought that war was the only possibility, especially after the Na’Hesit threatened to launch an assault to stop abolitionists from gaining power on several neutral colonies. Eventually, though, an uneasy peace was brokered, with the leadership of both parties forming something akin to a parliament. Thus, the Batarian Confederation was born. Not long after, other factions were given membership - colonies undecided or unaligned with either movement, uneasy protective alliances formed by the crews of remaining spaceworthy ships, as well as representatives of the Khar’Shan theocracy and the Erszbat Cabal, both of which proceeded to quickly leverage their unique positions to gather influence and further their own goals. While an impressive show of post-war unity, the Confederation at first remained a virtually powerless entity, unable to stop border wars even between its own members. Every major attempt at decision-making led to a deadlock, with Batarian Council members (collectively known as Ub’Hesit, or anti-slavers) and the Na’Hesit opposing one another even on mutually beneficial proposals. As a result, worlds among both factions tended to their own affairs and effectively ignore the grand pronouncements of their ostensible representatives. The discovery that the galaxy outside the Kite’s Nest had survived, that the Council worlds had survived in better shape than those of the Hegemony, and that the final battle had taken place over Earth itself surprised everyone. Despite past hostilities and the enmity between batarians and humans, the latter had now contributed something that even the most die-hard Hegemony fanatics couldn’t deny, and so a grudging respect for their old rivals spread throughout the Confederation. Ub’Hesit members saw the relative success of the worlds beyond the Nest as vindication, proof that their approach was the correct one, and tried to use this line of thought to heighten their influence among the neutral colonies, though with only minor success. This may have led to a gradual waning of Na’Hesit power, had not the fleet also brought news from the rest of the galaxy. Made up of varied elements from across the former Hegemony, and fresh from witnessing the final defeat of the Reapers, the batarian fleet was itself a house divided. Upon its return to the Kite’s Nest, only the charisma and influence of Admiral Ka’hairal Balak kept it from splintering along faction lines the way the Hegemony itself had. While the Confederation worlds possessed basic military forces, mostly militia and transport shuttles, they were nothing compared to the strength and professionalism of even a fragment of the former Hegemony fleet. Balak therefore found himself a powerful political figure whether he intended to be or not. To his great credit, in a move which would cement him as one of the first heroes of the post-Reaper era, Balak didn’t use his military strength to forge himself an empire or to eradicate one of the two Confederation factions. Instead, the fleet applied itself to maintaining balance and neutrality between the two sides. This wasn’t an entirely benevolent gesture, of course; without the element zero from Camala and the industrial base of Erszbat, the fleet wouldn’t have long survived, and the traditionally conservative military couldn’t commit itself to the cause of the Ub’Hesit without fracturing along the same lines as the Confederation itself. Even the otherwise isolationist Cabal took notice of the fleet’s arrival, and after tense, lengthy and secret negotiations, the group reluctantly placed their support behind Balak’s fleet, their factories supplying it with desperately needed spare parts and equipment. By maintaining neutrality, Admiral Balak ensured that his much-reduced military would survive, while strengthening the Confederation by neatly averting a war between its two largest factions. In return, the Confederation incorporated the military as a restricted voting member, capable of breaking deadlocks. The stabilization provided by this arrangement led to the development of an unofficial hierarchy of worlds within the Confederation; while no one planetcould claim to be the capital, three rose to similar status: Khar’shan, for its religious and historical significance, Erszbat, for its industrial and technological advantages, and Camala,as a result of its wealth. While the Na’Hesit worlds initially possessed no similarly influential planets, their greater unity provided them with the voting influence required, and the reestablishment of communication with Lorek gave them a symbolic if somewhat distant equivalent. The first major act of the Confederation following the fleet’s return was a blanket amnesty for all Terminus batarians. This surprising move, proposed initially by the Camalans, struck a chord with nearly every political interest in the new alliance: the Na’Hesit saw it as a meansof bringing the slavers and merchants of the Terminus into their fold; the Ub’Hesit saw it as an opportunity to spite the defunct Hegemony by bringing home political exiles; and the fleet saw a chance to expand its own capabilities by incorporating former pirates into the ranks - rather than have them run wild among the ruined systems and worlds of the Kite’s Nest.There was also opposition, however. The more hardline members of the Na’Hesit weren’t particularly keen on accepting exiled criminals and other dishonoured batarians, and the Ub’Hesit didn’t wish to welcome more supporters of slavery into the Confederation. Some factions inside the military were also wary of integrating badly-trained and questionably motivated pirates as a part of their combined forces. The supporters of the amnesty overruled the cautious faction, and this agreement was the first in its kind where a substantial number of council members broke the Na/Ub party line. The slavers of the Terminus systems sometimes proved unwilling to work within the bounds of the law; political exiles brought with them radical new ideas and entire ideologies which often ran contrary to what had been established since the end of the Reaper War; and pirates frequently proved both competent and resistant to military discipline, unwilling to fully incorporate into the Confederation. The only world which saw entirely the expected result was Camala, where the crimelords expanded their influence and brought their surviving pre-war business partners into the Confederation, to plant the seeds of an even more powerful Grusto. Nevertheless, despite the new problems it introduced, the amnesty did accomplish its primary goal of rapidly increasing the population of decimated Confederation worlds. Category:Species Category:Batarians